The Custer Avenue Baptist Church in the Atlanta area has disbanded after many years of operation and has recently sold its property. Church members decided to use a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the church property to establish a scholarship at Truett-McConnell College to honor the memory of Rev. Joseph C. Powell, long-time pastor of the church.

Rev. Steve Powell, son of Rev. Joseph C. Powell and the last pastor of the church before it disbanded, visited the Truett-McConnell campus in the early spring along with his wife. It was his first visit to the TMC campus. The Powells talked with Interim President Dr. Mike Simoneaux and then were escorted on a tour of the campus by Dr. Simoneaux.

The Custer Avenue Baptist Church’s gift of $100,000 to establish the Rev. Joseph C. Powell Scholarship Fund may be the largest single scholarship gift ever received by the college. The church designated the income from the fund to provide scholarships for students in the college’s Christian Studies department. Several students each year could be the direct beneficiaries of the generosity and love of the members of Custer Avenue Baptist Church, as Truett-McConnell College trains tomorrow’s church leaders today.